ALBANY -- Andrew Cuomo has already re-branded the Democratic Party in his image, and the gubernatorial candidate's dominating influence will shake up the pecking order of the state's minor parties at their conventions today.

Cuomo will be formally endorsed today for governor by the Independence Party when it convenes this morning in Colonie.

Riding high in the polls and pushing a message of reform, Cuomo is keeping his distance from the Working Families Party. He is refusing to accept -- for now -- the party endorsement when it meets in Buffalo.

The labor-backed, left-leaning party has been a buttress for Democratic candidates, but it advocates higher taxes on the wealthy and is under federal investigation for co-mingling activities with a for-profit and non-profit arm.

"There are several open issues that need to be considered, including but not limited to an ongoing federal investigation as well as policy and procedural issues," said Phil Singer, a Cuomo spokesman. "We will revisit the question in September at which time there will be more information available."

As a result, Working Families Party leaders are expected to nominate a "placeholder" candidate -- someone not widely known statewide -- to appear on the ballot through the primary, and replace the person in September. Dan Levitan, a Working Families Party spokesman, said delegates would nominate "the best available candidate" and would revisit the decision "if the occasion arises."

The stakes are higher for the two parties than for Cuomo: a political party appears automatically on the ballot only if its gubernatorial candidate gains 50,000 or more votes in the previous election.

Party order on the ballot is determined by the number of votes the party candidate receives. After the Democrats and Republicans, the Independence Party line appears on row C, and the Working Families on row E. So, in the words of Baruch College public affairs professor Doug Muzzio, "if they back the wrong candidate they're screwed."

Given his attempts to cast Democrats into a more fiscally conservative reform-focused-despite-presiding-over-scandal "New Democratic" party, it made political sense that Cuomo stood with Independence Party leaders before the Democratic convention began last month in Westchester County.

"This campaign is all about changing Albany," Cuomo said in May, flanked by Independence Party chair Frank MacKay and other executive committee members for the announcement. Doing so would require a "new way" and a "network of support," he said.

Independence Party leaders offer few details about why they were supporting Cuomo, beyond the major benefit of claiming the coattails of a popular candidate.

MacKay will host the party convention at the Holiday Inn Turf on Wolf Road this morning. Cuomo will not attend, but is expected to address the gathering by phone. MacKay did not return calls seeking comment and Lee Kolesnikoff, an executive committee member from Clifton Park, said he was uncertain of the exact agenda. He said party leaders decided to support Cuomo because, after an interview, "I just don't see anyone on the horizon who matches his stature."

"It's not a decision based on principle. He's either for the things that the line stands for and he's taken their endorsement in the past, or he's not. That's the kind of dodging and deception that I think people are tired of," Lazio said. "To me, it's yet another illustration that Andrew Cuomo doesn't do what's right because it's right. He does what he can get away with and what's right for Andrew Cuomo."

Lazio said Cuomo took the line in 2006 when he ran successfully for attorney general, but said that some of the party's positions -- they asked all candidates to sign a letter supporting higher income taxes or a bonus tax; Cuomo has said he doesn't want to raise taxes "at this time" -- don't jive with the positions of the "New Democratic Party" Cuomo seeks to create.

"This should be a no-brainer," Lazio said. "If he says he's not for the things the Working Families are for, then why fight for a placeholder?"

One possible reason is conflicts over ideology, which Cuomo allies and labor leaders rejected Friday. Some unions, particularly public employee unions, have reacted coolly to Cuomo's ideas for restructuring government and imposing a cap on local property taxes.

There's also the realpolitik explanation: why, if you're Andrew Cuomo, would you want a party around whose stated purpose is to push back against your agenda?

If Cuomo opts not to take their line in September, Working Families Party leaders said they were confident they would find a progressive candidate to carry the flag.